Dow High grad honored

Published 8:00 pm, Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Justin Near, a 2000 graduate of H.H. Dow High School, has been honored as one of Metro-Detroit's top business people in their 20s by Crain's Detroit Business' "20 in their 20's."

Near, 25, was born in Texas and went to junior high school in Belgium while his father worked for The Dow Chemical Co. in The Netherlands. He later moved to Midland and earned his bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.

Near is a founding publisher of Six Degrees magazine and is the owner of his own public relations firm, Near Perfect Media L.L.C., which he formed in September.

Six Degrees magazine is a pocket-size monthly with trendy local and national content aimed at "influential cosmopolitan trendsetters." Near was among the investors in the publication and its first publisher.

When the magazine launched in September 2004 as Ego Detroit, circulation was 10,000, Near said, and it's since grown to 25,000. The magazine, which became Six Degrees when Near and others bought that Miami-based title in 2005, is free and distributed at 600 upscale locations in metro Detroit.

Once the Detroit edition was launched and stable, Near wanted a new challenge.

"After two years I wanted to move on to something else and do something new," he told Crain's Detroit Business. Near Perfect Media L.L.C. was born.

Near plans to stay involved in an advisory role with Six Degrees. He remains a minority investor in the publication.

Nearly 200 people were nominated for consideration for this year's 20 in their 20s class. A team of editors and reporters checked references and debated merits of all the candidates before narrowing the list to 20, including Near.